STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — A year ago Hawai'i found itself in the frozen tundra of Green Bay, Wis., where Wisconsin solved the secrets of the Rainbow Wahine magic and ended their unbeaten volleyball season in a regional semifinal.

Today, in a Nittany Valley buried in fresh snow, the seventh-seeded 'Bows (27-6) will try to kick it up a notch in a regional semifinal against 10th-seeded Missouri (24-4).

All season they have insisted they were a better team than last year, "at every position," according to coach Dave Shoji. But 2005 started with a barrage of injured bodies and — after opening 6-6 — egos. Even the 20-match win streak that followed wasn't all that convincing.

The 21st straight win, Saturday in a second-round match against seventh-ranked Texas, was completely convincing.

"We have played our best volleyball the last two weeks," Shoji insisted. "We had a slow start for whatever reason, but we've been building momentum. We've had challenges along the way but, more so in the last week, we've played really well. We are very confident. Our players believe in themselves."

Maybe they finally believe they are better than last year.

"It's the fusion of last year and what we've learned," senior Ashley Watanabe explained. "We took two different pieces of the puzzle and put them together. ... The ultimate goal was to get farther, but the daily goal was just to get better."

The result has been a team with more middle offense than last year, as All-American Victoria Prince pushed her game higher and sophomore Juliana Sanders became a force. Susie Boogaard has given the right side a sense of security in her senior year. Junior Kanoe Kamana'o looks more like an international setter than one closing on her third All-American honor.

Emotionally, Watanabe has leveraged her libero duties to become the leader the team on the floor so desperately needed. Co-captain Cayley Thurlby has always been the 'Bows' natural leader, and provides a remarkable spark for someone who has been Kamana'o's backup for three years.

"She is incredible," Shoji said of Thurlby. "I told her I would give her every opportunity to be libero next year. We need her out there and she deserves to play."

Then there is the left-side position. It has been "mix and match" all year because of injuries to Sarah Mason and Tara Hittle and freshman Jamie Houston's phenomenal potential. It will probably be the "make or break" site for success.

When Hawai'i two-stepped all over Texas on Saturday, Mason and Houston brought back memories of former UH All-Americans Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku. They need to do that for four more matches to give the Rainbow Wahine a shot at their fifth national title — and first in 18 years.

"Jamie and Sarah were scoring with balls set from off the net," Shoji said. "That's the difference in really good teams and an average team or a team that doesn't have those kind of lefts."

Mason hasn't started since re-injuring her ankle Nov. 9 and might not today at Rec Hall. Shoji relishes the fact that she can go in for either left side or Boogaard, and feels it gives him a rare weapon. The depth doesn't end there. Kari Gregory has played early and often in the middle. Hawai'i has a dozen people in on a regular basis, which is a far cry from last year.

"There are so many lineups we can put out on the court," Kamana'o said. "We have gotten so comfortable playing with each other and whoever is on the court. There is nothing that fazes us."

Not the unfamiliar surroundings or the snow or the final exams closing in, or second-seeded Penn State, which could go for the Hawai'i hat trick — UH lost to the Nittany Lions twice the first week of the season — tomorrow. All Hawai'i is focused on today is Missouri, which is not as deep as Hawai'i but is at least as balanced.

Mizzou, in its first NCAA Regional, has swept three top-10 teams (Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin) this season to bolt into the top 10 (No. 8) for the first time in history.

Senior setter Lindsey Hunter and juniors Jessica Vander Kooi and Nicole Wilson were just named to the AVCA's Central Region team. Senior Shen Danru holds Mizzou records for games, kills, aces, digs and points.

If Hawai'i really is better than last year, today is the time to prove it.

NOTES

Sports Radio (1420 AM) will broadcast all Hawai'i matches live. KFVE (5) will show today's regional semifinal live. Today's match begins at 11 a.m. Hawai'i time, as does tomorrow's.

All four setters here — Hawai'i's Kanoe Kamana'o, Penn State's Sam Tortorello, Missouri's Lindsey Hunter and Tennessee's Julie Knytych — earned all-region honors, making them eligible for All-America honors. Kamana'o and Tortorello were first-team All-Americans last year, Hunter was second team and Knytych third.

Freshman Christa Harmatto is one of five Nittany Lions on the all-Mideast Region team. Harmatto hurt her right knee Nov. 19 and hasn't played since. Her status this weekend is unknown, according to the school. She leads the team in blocking, is averaging three kills a game and hitting .356.

Tennessee (23-8), which has won 12 of its past 13, plays second-seeded Penn State (31-2) in the second regional semifinal today. The Nittany Lions have won their past 25, losing just three games in the process. This is Tennessee's second straight regional. It beat Florida and Minnesota this year, but is only 8-7 away from home.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.